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SPEAKOUT: More needed to keep tobacco from kids

By Kimberly Hills

Published May 30, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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Colorado has a national reputation for good health. Our state has some of the lowest rates of obesity and adult smoking in the nation. We are known for our mountains, our sunshine and our commitment to clean living. And since the passage of the Clean Indoor Air Act in 2006, our residents have enjoyed a smoke-free environment when they wine, dine or - since the first of the year - gamble.

Still, about one out of seven high school students currently smokes cigarettes. One out of 10 of these young people will smoke 10 or more cigarettes every day. These statistics not only stain Colorado's reputation for good health, they are an alarming sign of a growing problem. We have a responsibility to our children and young people to keep tobacco out of their reach. If we fail them, we fail ourselves and the future of our fine state.

Currently, it is illegal to sell or furnish cigarettes and other tobacco products to minors under the age of 18, and it is illegal for minors to purchase cigarettes. This year, the Colorado state legislature passed SB 88, making it illegal for anyone under the age of 18 to possess tobacco. The bill also requires store clerks to ask customers who are buying tobacco to show proof of their age with government-issued ID. Moreover, it will no longer matter whether or not the clerk "knew" that the purchaser was under 18. The clerk who sells to minors will be ticketed.

The position of The Colorado Tobacco Education and Prevention Alliance on this legislation is that it only touches the surface. In Colorado, while it is mandatory that retailers of alcohol and firearms have a license to sell, it is not required of those that sell tobacco. Consequently, there is no way to know with accuracy who is selling tobacco in any community, and, worse yet, who is selling to children. In 2006, nearly half of underage high school smokers were sold cigarettes when they tried to buy them according to the Colorado Healthy Kids Survey on Tobacco. This is completely unacceptable. If we are to hold accountable the youth who are addicted to tobacco, then we must have meaningful consequences for those who sell the cigarettes to them, such as yanking their tobacco retailer's license.

We expect to hear retailers declare that this will be a burden on business. The reality is that it will burden only those who violate the law, as it should. This "onerous" practice of licensing tobacco retailers is employed in all but 11 states, one of which is Colorado. When businesses take on the activity of selling a product that is hazardous to our health, there absolutely should be strict merchandising regulations in place.

Tobacco retailer licensing is only one measure that can reduce the rates of youth access to tobacco and youth smoking. If Colorado is really serious about keeping cigarettes out of the hands of our kids, then we need to stop allowing the tobacco industry to market so successfully to children. The tobacco industry pays retailers to strategically place tobacco and tobacco promotions out in the open at the eye-level of young children. We must demand that these products be placed behind the counter and that promotions be removed. The United States lags far behind other countries in this regard, as if we support the idea of getting our youth to start this habit.

Our state leaders would do our children a great justice if they were to pass a law restricting tobacco promotions and product placement in addition to retailer licensing. Colorado has a great start with the Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act, the increased tobacco tax and requiring clerks to check for ID. Legislators need to finish what they have begun, and work to fully protect our children from the tobacco industry's enticing campaign to become hooked on cigarettes.

Kimberly Hills is the executive director for the Colorado Tobacco Education and Prevention Alliance. She is a resident of Boulder.

Comments

  • May 30, 2008

    5:48 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Pagen writes:

    Kimberly,
    What is the first thing a kid does when you tell him he can't have something...he will go behind your back. Educating the kids was doing a better job in keeping kids from smoking then you introduce a ban and the kids smoke because it is "naughty"! The same goes for alcohol and drugs. You people need to re-think the way you are aproaching the kids especially since teen smoking is up 40% nation wide. Keep up the good work!

  • May 30, 2008

    6:59 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Mike_In_Hartsel writes:

    Kim, why not just outlaw cigarettes? Isn't that what you really want? Then they can't be sold anywhere in the state. Wouldn't that be easier? Go fot it. It worked for Volstead and it might work for you.

  • May 30, 2008

    7:50 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    sheepherder writes:

    Why do we always turn to the government to solve the ills of society by passing legislation? The solution to this problem begins in the home, with parents. I'm getting sick of the government trying to protect me from everything, and we sure dont need any new laws.

  • May 30, 2008

    8:01 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Blair writes:

    What has happened to a parents responsibility to teach their children? If you don't want them to smoke, then TEACH them not to smoke. If YOU can't teach them YOUR values, why do you think the government should do it for you?

  • May 30, 2008

    11:22 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    dilligaf writes:

    Smoking should be outlawed. If we outlaw other things like pot then cigs should go too.

  • May 30, 2008

    5:13 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    roger44 writes:

    The state could ban tobacco, just as the Government banned asbestos. They won't because of money, pure and simple. But folks will cross state lines and buy them. As previous comment said, we can't regulate everything, Parents should educate the kids, show them some pictures of smokers lungs. I quit smoking for 4 years, never weighed over 190 lbs. Got up to 256, and said enough, went back to smoking, now 210. Smoking 45 yrs now, and in better shape than a lot of 40 yr olds that are packing around an extra 40 pounds---and last but not least, I enjoy smoking----

  • May 31, 2008

    8:47 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    vudumom writes:

    I'd rather see a kid smoking than drinking and driving. I've never heard of someone killing other people while smoking and driving. Though the people who throw cig butts out the window should be shot.

  • January 15, 2009

    10:56 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    lulupeach writes:

    My mom and her sister are 2 years apart and look remarkably alike.. Unfortunately, however, my mom's sister has smoked for more than 30 years and looks a solid 10 years older than my mom. Maybe the age effect should be emphazied to youth. Smoking isn't glamorous; it turns not only your lungs to tar, it turns your face into wrinkley leather skin.